Platformers

Run and jump through the classics: tight controls, secret rooms and a boss at the end of every world.

188 platformers to play in your browser with a controller. Free every day; log in with Discord to play.

• Spyro the Dragon (PlayStation, 1998, Sony Computer Entertainment): Spyro, a young purple dragon, glides and charges through six worlds to free the dragons Gnasty Gnorc has turned to crystal.
• Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis, 1991, Sega): Sonic races through Green Hill Zone and beyond at top speed, grabbing rings and freeing animals from Dr. Robotnik's badniks.
• Ghouls'n Ghosts (Arcade, 1988, Capcom): Sir Arthur fights through haunted lands to save the princess, losing his armor with every hit.
• Super Mario World (Super Nintendo, 1990, Nintendo): Mario and Luigi explore Dinosaur Land with Yoshi, hunting secret exits across a huge world map.
• Snow Bros. (Arcade, 1990, Toaplan): Nick and Tom snow over monsters, then roll them into giant snowballs to clear each floor.
• Ghosts'n Goblins (Arcade, 1985, Capcom): Sir Arthur's first quest through graveyards and castles, famous for its brutal difficulty.
• Bubble Bobble (Arcade, 1986, Taito): Bub and Bob trap enemies in bubbles across 100 single-screen levels.
• Rainbow Islands (Arcade, 1987, Taito): Bubby climbs ever-rising islands by casting rainbows as bridges and weapons.
• The NewZealand Story (Arcade, 1988, Taito): Tiki the kiwi shoots arrows and rides balloons to rescue friends from a walrus.
• Strider (Arcade, 1989, Capcom): Hiryu slashes, climbs and cartwheels across the world to take down the Grandmaster.
• Shinobi (Arcade, 1987, Sega): Joe Musashi uses shuriken and ninja magic to rescue kidnapped children.
• Bionic Commando (Arcade, 1987, Capcom): No jumping: swing through enemy territory using your bionic grappling arm.
• Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Arcade, 1987, Sega): Tom-Tom grows into a hero, buying swords and armor to save Monster Land.
• Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Arcade, 1988, Sega): Part platformer, part shooter, as Wonder Boy and his partner fight a monster invasion.
• Rygar (Arcade, 1986, Tecmo): A warrior with a spinning shield-yo-yo battles beasts in a mythic land.
• Toki (Arcade, 1989, TAD Corporation): A hero turned into an ape spits fireballs to rescue his girlfriend from an evil wizard.
• Magic Sword (Arcade, 1990, Capcom): Climb a 50-floor tower, freeing allies to fight beside you on the way to the dark lord.
• Super Mario All-Stars (Super Nintendo, 1993, Nintendo): Four classic Super Mario Bros. adventures, remade with 16-bit graphics.
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Super Nintendo, 1995, Nintendo): Yoshi carries Baby Mario through a hand-drawn world, throwing eggs to save his brother.
• Kirby Super Star (Super Nintendo, 1996, Nintendo): Eight Kirby adventures in one, with a helper buddy for a second player.
• Super Metroid (Super Nintendo, 1994, Nintendo): Samus explores the planet Zebes, gathering power-ups to reach the Mother Brain.
• Super Ghouls'n Ghosts (Super Nintendo, 1991, Capcom): Sir Arthur's 16-bit quest, with the double jump, magic armor and twice the challenge.
• Mega Man X (Super Nintendo, 1993, Capcom): X dashes and wall-climbs through eight Mavericks to stop Sigma.
• Mega Man 7 (Super Nintendo, 1995, Capcom): The Blue Bomber's 16-bit adventure against Dr. Wily and the mysterious Bass.
• Mega Man X2 (Super Nintendo, 1994, Capcom): X hunts down eight new Mavericks and the X-Hunters to win back Zero's stolen parts.
• Mega Man X3 (Super Nintendo, 1995, Capcom): X and Zero take on Dr. Doppler's rogue Mavericks, with ride armors and hidden upgrades to find.
• The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (Super Nintendo, 1992, Capcom): Mickey changes costumes for new powers on his way to rescue Pluto from Emperor Pete.
• Skyblazer (Super Nintendo, 1994, Sony Imagesoft): Sky wall-climbs, dashes and casts magic across a mythic world to rescue the sorceress Ariana.
• Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985, Nintendo): Mario runs and jumps across the Mushroom Kingdom, stomping Goombas through eight worlds to rescue Princess Toadstool from Bowser.
• Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988, Nintendo): Pick Mario, Luigi, Toad or the Princess, pluck vegetables from the ground and throw them at Shy Guys to free the dream land of Subcon from Wart.
• Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1988, Nintendo): Mario takes flight with the Super Leaf across eight themed worlds, on maps full of secrets, bonus games and Koopalings to topple.
• Kirby's Adventure (NES, 1993, Nintendo): Kirby inhales enemies to copy their powers for the first time, on a colorful quest to put the Star Rod back together in Dream Land.
• Mega Man 2 (NES, 1988, Capcom): Mega Man takes on eight new Robot Masters in any order he likes, earning each boss's weapon before storming Dr. Wily's castle.
• Batman: The Video Game (NES, 1989, Sunsoft): Batman wall-jumps through the streets, factories and sewers of Gotham with batarangs and a spear gun on his way to the Joker.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) (NES, 1989, Ultra Games): Swap between all four turtles at any time to rescue April, disarm the bombs under the dam and take down Shredder in this tough action game.
• Donkey Kong 64 (Nintendo 64, 1999, Nintendo): Donkey Kong and four Kong friends explore huge 3D worlds collecting bananas and blueprints to stop King K. Rool's Blast-o-Matic.
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis, 1992, Sega): Sonic teams up with Tails for faster zones, the new spin dash and Super Sonic, plus a split-screen race for two players.
• Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Sega Genesis, 1994, Sega): Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles locked together into one big adventure on Angel Island, played as Sonic, Tails or Knuckles.
• Disney's Aladdin (Sega Genesis, 1993, Sega): Aladdin swings his sword through Agrabah, the Cave of Wonders and Jafar's palace, animated by artists from Disney's film.
• Earthworm Jim (Sega Genesis, 1994, Playmates Interactive): An ordinary earthworm in a super suit whips, blasts and bungee-jumps through bizarre levels to save Princess What's-Her-Name.
• Beavis and Butt-Head (Sega Genesis, 1994, Viacom New Media): Beavis and Butt-Head roam Highland hunting down the torn pieces of their GWAR concert tickets.
• Bubble and Squeak (Sega Genesis, 1994, Sunsoft): Bubble guides his alien friend Squeak through platform puzzles, helping him past gaps and danger on the way home.
• Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo, 1994, Nintendo): Donkey and Diddy Kong win back their banana hoard from King K. Rool through jungles, mines and factories in striking pre-rendered graphics.
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Super Nintendo, 1995, Nintendo): Diddy and Dixie Kong sail to Crocodile Isle to rescue Donkey Kong from Kaptain K. Rool, through pirate ships, volcanoes and bramble mazes.
• Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (Super Nintendo, 1996, Nintendo): Dixie and her baby cousin Kiddy Kong search the Northern Kremisphere for the missing Donkey and Diddy Kong.
• Metroid (NES, 1986, Nintendo): Bounty hunter Samus Aran explores the caverns of planet Zebes, finding upgrades that open new paths, to wipe out the Metroids and the Mother Brain.
• Castlevania (NES, 1986, Konami): Simon Belmont climbs Count Dracula's castle with his whip, holy water and axes, battling bats, mummies and Frankenstein's monster on the way to the count himself.
• Mega Man 3 (NES, 1990, Capcom): Mega Man gains a slide and his robot dog Rush, faces eight new Robot Masters and the mysterious Proto Man, then copies of Mega Man 2's bosses.
• Ninja Gaiden (NES) (NES, 1988, Tecmo): Ryu Hayabusa leaves Japan to avenge his father, wall-jumping and slashing through brutal stages, with cinema scenes telling the story between acts.
• DuckTales (NES, 1989, Capcom): Scrooge McDuck pogo-jumps on his cane from the Amazon to the Moon, hunting five legendary treasures to become the richest duck in the world.
• Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES, 1989, Konami): Trevor Belmont takes on Dracula two centuries before Simon, choosing branching paths and recruiting allies like the sorceress Sypha and Dracula's own son, Alucard.
• Bionic Commando (NES) (NES, 1988, Capcom): Ladd Spencer can't jump, but his bionic arm grapples, swings and climbs through enemy bases on a mission to rescue Super Joe.
• Blaster Master (NES, 1988, Sunsoft): Jason follows his pet frog down a hole into a mutant underworld, driving the tank SOPHIA the 3rd through caverns and exploring dungeons on foot.
• Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo, 1991, Konami): Simon Belmont's whip now cracks in eight directions and swings him across gaps, in a Super Nintendo retelling of his first trip to Dracula's castle.
• Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Sega Genesis, 1993, Sega): Joe Musashi runs, wall-jumps, surfs and rides horseback against the Neo Zeed crime syndicate, in the series' fastest outing.
• Castlevania: Bloodlines (Sega Genesis, 1994, Konami): John Morris and his whip, or Eric Lecarde and his spear, chase Dracula's niece Elizabeth Bartley across Europe on the eve of World War I.
• Ristar (Sega Genesis, 1995, Sega): A shooting star with stretchy arms grabs, swings and head-butts his way across the planets of the Valdi system to free them from the tyrant Greedy.
• Rocket Knight Adventures (Sega Genesis, 1993, Konami): Sparkster, an opossum knight with a rocket pack, blasts through an army of pigs and robots to rescue the princess.
• Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64, 1996, Nintendo): Mario leaps into fifteen painting worlds inside Peach's castle to collect Power Stars, in the game that showed what 3D platforming could be.
• Banjo-Kazooie (Nintendo 64, 1998, Nintendo): Banjo the bear and Kazooie the bird climb Gruntilda's lair to rescue Banjo's sister, collecting jigsaw pieces and musical notes across nine worlds.
• Banjo-Tooie (Nintendo 64, 2000, Nintendo): Gruntilda is back as a skeleton, and Banjo and Kazooie chase her across huge, connected worlds to stop her draining the life from the Isle o' Hags.
• Conker's Bad Fur Day (Nintendo 64, 2001, Rare): A hungover red squirrel stumbles through a crude, foul-mouthed adventure full of film parodies, with a multiplayer mode for four.
• Mischief Makers (Nintendo 64, 1997, Nintendo): Robot maid Marina grabs, shakes and throws everything in sight to rescue her kidnapped professor on Planet Clancer, in Treasure's playful action game.
• Pitfall! (Atari 2600, 1982, Activision): Pitfall Harry swings on vines over tar pits and crocodiles, hunting 32 treasures in 20 minutes across 255 screens of jungle.
• H.E.R.O. (Atari 2600, 1984, Activision): Roderick Hero flies with a prop pack, blasts walls with dynamite and zaps creatures with his helmet laser to rescue miners trapped underground.
• Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (Atari 2600, 1984, Activision): Pitfall Harry explores a vast cavern to rescue his niece Rhonda and his cat Quickclaw, with music from a special chip in the cartridge.
• Frostbite (Atari 2600, 1983, Activision): Frostbite Bailey jumps across drifting ice floes to build an igloo block by block before he freezes.
• Keystone Kapers (Atari 2600, 1983, Activision): Officer Kelly chases the robber Harry Hooligan up the floors of a department store, dodging shopping carts, balls and toy planes.
• Bubble Bobble (NES) (NES, 1988, Taito): Bub and Bob trap monsters in bubbles and pop them across 100 single-screen stages, with the secret endings that need both dragons.
• Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (NES, 1990, Capcom): Chip and Dale pick up crates and apples to throw at Fat Cat's gang, two chipmunks at once, in Capcom's Disney platformer.
• Darkwing Duck (NES, 1992, Capcom): Darkwing Duck hangs from hooks, fires gas guns and takes on F.O.W.L.'s villains across St. Canard in Capcom's Mega Man-style caper.
• DuckTales 2 (NES, 1993, Capcom): Scrooge McDuck pogo-jumps through five new treasure hunts, with a cane that now pulls and pushes, chasing the pieces of a lost map.
• Gargoyle's Quest II (NES, 1992, Capcom): Firebrand the gargoyle flies and clings to walls through the Ghoul Realm, with RPG towns between the action stages, to stop the Black Light.
• Ghosts'n Goblins (NES) (NES, 1986, Capcom): Arthur runs the graveyard, the ghost town and Satan's castle in his underwear once his armor is gone, and has to do it twice for the real ending.
• Kid Icarus (NES, 1987, Nintendo): Pit climbs out of the Underworld with his bow, buying from shops and growing his strength, to take the three sacred treasures to Medusa.
• Little Nemo: The Dream Master (NES, 1990, Capcom): Nemo feeds candy to frogs, moles and gorillas to ride them through Slumberland on the way to rescue the king from the Nightmare King.
• M.C. Kids (NES, 1992, Virgin Games): Mick and Mack chase the Hamburglar through McDonaldland in a surprisingly clever platformer that flips gravity and hides cards in every level.
• Mega Man (NES, 1987, Capcom): The first one: Mega Man takes on Dr. Wily's six Robot Masters in any order, winning each one's weapon, then storms Wily's fortress.
• Mega Man 4 (NES, 1992, Capcom): Mega Man gets the chargeable Mega Buster and faces Dr. Cossack's eight robots, before the real villain turns out to be who it always is.
• Mega Man 5 (NES, 1992, Capcom): Proto Man seems to have kidnapped Dr. Light; Mega Man and his new bird Beat chase the truth through eight Robot Masters' stages.
• Mega Man 6 (NES, 1994, Nintendo): Mr. X's robot tournament goes wrong; Mega Man fuses with Rush into Jet and Power armors to clear eight stages in the last NES Mega Man.
• Metal Storm (NES, 1991, Irem America): The M-308 Gunner mech flips gravity at the press of a button, walking the ceiling to dodge fire, in Irem's late NES showpiece.
• Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES, 1990, Tecmo): Ryu Hayabusa gains shadow clones and wall climbing to stop Ashtar and the Dark Sword, through stages of wind, ice and rising floods.
• ActRaiser (Super Nintendo, 1991, Enix America): The Master descends to clear each land's monsters as a statue come to life, then guides its people as they build towns in the sim half.
• The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super Nintendo, 1994, Konami): Batman takes on the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face and the rest of the animated series' villains, gadget by gadget, with the Dark Deco look intact.
• Demon's Crest (Super Nintendo, 1994, Capcom): Firebrand's third game: the gargoyle gathers crests that change his form and flight across a gothic demon realm, with secrets that decide the ending.
• Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Super Nintendo, 1997, Nintendo): Kirby and Gooey join animal friends Rick, Coo, Kine, Nago, ChuChu and Pitch, each changing his copied powers, through a crayon-drawn Dream Land.
• Prince of Persia (Super Nintendo, 1992, Konami): Jordan Mechner's rotoscoped prince has two hours to escape the dungeons and stop Jaffar, in the SNES version with twenty levels and new traps.
• Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Sega Genesis, 1990, Sega): Mickey bounces through Mizrabel's castle of enchanted forests, toylands and libraries to rescue Minnie, in one of the Genesis's first great platformers.
• Dynamite Headdy (Sega Genesis, 1994, Sega): Headdy throws his head at everything, swapping it for hammers, vacuums and spikes, through a puppet theater of Treasure's wildest bosses.
• Earthworm Jim 2 (Sega Genesis, 1995, Playmates Interactive): Jim is back with a gun, a snot swing and Psy-Crow on his tail, through stages that include a puppy-catching game and a salamander-driven lift ride.
• Flashback: The Quest for Identity (Sega Genesis, 1993, U.S. Gold): Conrad wakes in a jungle on Titan with no memory and uncovers an alien plot, in Delphine's rotoscoped cinematic platformer.
• Ghouls'n Ghosts (Genesis) (Sega Genesis, 1989, Sega): Arthur's second quest, with the magic armor and the upward and downward shots, in the port of Capcom's arcade game that showed off the new Genesis in 1989.
• Jurassic Park (Sega Genesis, 1993, Sega): Play Dr. Grant escaping the island, or the Velociraptor hunting him, through the film's park with tranquilizer darts and dinosaurs drawn from models.
• QuackShot Starring Donald Duck (Sega Genesis, 1991, Sega): Donald hunts King Garuzia's treasure from Duckburg to Transylvania and the Maharajah's palace with a plunger gun, hopping continents by plane.
• The Revenge of Shinobi (Sega Genesis, 1989, Sega): Joe Musashi takes on Neo Zeed across Tokyo, a casino and a battleship with shuriken and ninjutsu, to Yuzo Koshiro's soundtrack, in the Genesis's first Shinobi.
• Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (Sega Genesis, 1990, Sega): Joe Musashi and his dog Yamato defuse bombs across a ruined New York, the dog pinning enemies while Joe throws shuriken, in the Genesis's own Shadow Dancer.
• Strider (Genesis) (Sega Genesis, 1990, Sega): Strider Hiryu's cipher-slashing run through Kazakh, Siberia and the flying battleship, in the 8-megabit port of Capcom's arcade game that was the Genesis's showpiece in 1990.
• ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (Sega Genesis, 1993, Sega): Earthlings have followed the aliens home; ToeJam and Earl trap them in jars across a side-scrolling Funkotron, with funk scans and jam-out bonus rounds.
• World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (Sega Genesis, 1992, Sega): Mickey and Donald, together or alone, wave magic capes through a magician's worlds of cards, candy and the sea, with routes only two players can take.
• X-Men (Genesis) (Sega Genesis, 1993, Sega): Wolverine, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Gambit fight through Magneto's corrupted Danger Room scenarios, calling in allies for help, with a famous reset-button puzzle.
• X-Men 2: Clone Wars (Sega Genesis, 1995, Sega): Six X-Men, Magneto included, take on the Phalanx with two players at once, with a cold open that starts you mid-fight before the title screen.
• Donkey Kong (Atari 2600) (Atari 2600, 1982, Coleco): Mario climbs the girders and the rivet stage to rescue Pauline, in Coleco's famously stripped-down two-screen port.
• Montezuma's Revenge (Atari 2600, 1984, Parker Brothers): Panama Joe jumps, climbs and collects keys through the pyramid's rooms of snakes, skulls and disappearing floors, in the 2600 port of the platformer classic.
• Balloon Kid (Game Boy, 1990, Nintendo): Alice floats and drops with her balloons through eight scrolling stages to find her brother Jim, in the Balloon Fight follow-up made for the Game Boy.
• Batman: The Video Game (Game Boy) (Game Boy, 1990, Sunsoft): Batman shoots and jumps through Gotham, the Axis Chemical plant and the cathedral to stop the Joker, in Sunsoft's handheld take on the film.
• Bionic Commando (Game Boy) (Game Boy, 1992, Capcom): Rad Spencer swings on his bionic arm through enemy bases to rescue Super Joe, in a reworking of the NES game with new areas.
• Bubble Bobble Part 2 (Game Boy, 1993, Taito): A new Bub blows bubbles through 80 rounds and boss fights, with items that give wings and super bubbles, in the Game Boy's own Bubble Bobble sequel.
• Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Game Boy, 1991, Konami): Christopher Belmont storms four castles in any order, then Dracula's, with the whip, holy water and an axe, and a soundtrack beloved on the Game Boy.
• Castlevania Legends (Game Boy, 1998, Konami): Sonia Belmont, the first of the line, hunts Dracula with her whip and Soul Weapons through five stages, in the last Castlevania on the original Game Boy.
• Donkey Kong (Game Boy) (Game Boy, 1994, Nintendo): The four arcade screens are only the start: Mario chases Donkey Kong through 97 more stages of keys, ladders and handstands, in the game that became Mario vs. Donkey Kong.
• Donkey Kong Land (Game Boy, 1995, Nintendo): Donkey and Diddy Kong's Country-style run on the Game Boy, with new islands and the pre-rendered look squeezed into four shades of grey.
• Donkey Kong Land 2 (Game Boy, 1996, Nintendo): Diddy and Dixie follow Diddy's Kong Quest onto the Game Boy, with Kaptain K. Rool's Crocodile Isle remade for the small screen.
• Donkey Kong Land III (Game Boy, 1997, Nintendo): Dixie and Kiddy Kong race Baron K. Roolenstein through the Northern Kremisphere to find the Lost World, in Rare's last Land game.
• DuckTales (Game Boy) (Game Boy, 1990, Capcom): Scrooge's pogo-cane treasure hunt through the Amazon, Transylvania, the Himalayas, the moon and the mines, scaled to the Game Boy.
• DuckTales 2 (Game Boy) (Game Boy, 1993, Capcom): The NES sequel's five treasure hunts on the Game Boy, with the cane's new pull and push moves.
• Gargoyle's Quest (Game Boy, 1990, Capcom): Firebrand of Ghosts'n Goblins gets his own game: flying, wall-clinging platforming stages joined by an RPG overworld of towns and quests.
• Kid Dracula (Game Boy, 1993, Konami): Dracula's son, newly awake, fights Garamoth's monsters with fireballs and bat form through a cartoon Castlevania, in the Game Boy's own Kid Dracula.
• Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy, 1991, Nintendo): Pit trains for Orcos's invasion through Angel Land's towers and fortresses, with the bow, shops and the Eggplant Wizard along for the ride.
• Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy, 1992, Nintendo): Kirby's first game: inhale enemies, float over the gaps and take Dream Land's food back from King Dedede, in a short, sweet platformer.
• Kirby's Dream Land 2 (Game Boy, 1995, Nintendo): Kirby gains copy abilities and animal friends Rick, Kine and Coo, who change each power, to collect the Rainbow Drops and stop Dark Matter.
• Mega Man III (Game Boy) (Game Boy, 1992, Capcom): Four Robot Masters from Mega Man 3 and four from Mega Man 4, plus the Game Boy's own Punk, in the third handheld Mega Man.
• Mega Man IV (Game Boy) (Game Boy, 1993, Capcom): Robot Masters from Mega Man 4 and 5, a shop to spend bolts in and Ballade as the Game Boy's own boss, in the biggest handheld Mega Man.
• Mega Man V (Game Boy) (Game Boy, 1994, Capcom): The Stardroids, a set of bosses made only for this game, and the Mega Arm, which can be thrown and charged, in the Game Boy's original Mega Man.
• Ninja Gaiden Shadow (Game Boy, 1991, Tecmo): Ryu Hayabusa grapples and slashes through a New York of 1999 in a handheld Ninja Gaiden reworked from Natsume's Shadow of the Ninja.
• Super Mario Land (Game Boy, 1989, Nintendo): Mario's first handheld trip: Sarasaland's four kingdoms, a submarine, a plane and Princess Daisy, in a tiny game that launched the Game Boy.
• Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy, 1992, Nintendo): Wario has taken Mario's castle; six zones, from a giant tree to the moon, hold the coins that open its door, with a bunny-ear cap for gliding.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue (Game Boy, 1993, Konami): Michaelangelo starts alone and frees his brothers, each with a move that opens new paths, in a Metroid-style Turtles game on the Game Boy.
• Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy, 1994, Nintendo): Wario's first starring role: charge, ground-pound and hoard coins across Kitchen Island to steal Captain Syrup's treasure and buy a castle.
• Wario Land II (Game Boy, 1998, Nintendo): Wario can't die: being squashed, burned or stung becomes the way through puzzles, across branching chapters that chase Captain Syrup again.
• Goemon's Great Adventure (Nintendo 64, 1999, Konami): Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke and Yae run side-scrolling stages across Japan, two at once, with Impact's giant-robot fights between.
• Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo 64, 2000, Nintendo): Kirby mixes two copy abilities into one, like fire and ice or spark and cutter, to gather the crystal shards across six planets.
• Rayman 2: The Great Escape (Nintendo 64, 1999, Ubi Soft): Rayman frees the Glade of Dreams from Admiral Razorbeard's robot pirates, collecting lums and masks across the game that made him 3D.
• Rocket: Robot on Wheels (Nintendo 64, 1999, Ubi Soft): Rocket, a one-wheeled robot, uses a tractor beam and a real physics engine to solve a theme park's puzzles, in Sucker Punch's first game.
• SpaceStation Silicon Valley (Nintendo 64, 1998, Take-Two Interactive): A microchip hops between robot animals, from sheep to foxes to hyenas, using each one's skills to solve a lost space station's puzzles, from the makers of GTA.
• Yoshi's Story (Nintendo 64, 1998, Nintendo): Baby Yoshis eat fruit through a storybook world to recover the Super Happy Tree from Baby Bowser, in a pop-up-book platformer.
• Asterix & Obelix (Game Boy Color, 1999, Infogrames): The two Gauls travel across the Roman Empire, punching legionaries in a side-scrolling platformer played as either Asterix or Obelix.
• Batman: Chaos in Gotham (Game Boy Color, 2001, Ubi Soft): Batman and Batgirl chase the Joker, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy across Gotham after an Arkham breakout, with brawls, grappling hooks and a Batmobile run.
• Bionic Commando: Elite Forces (Game Boy Color, 2000, Nintendo): A new commando swings through enemy bases on a grappling arm in this take on Capcom's classic, where there's no jump button and the bionic arm is everything.
• Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color) (Game Boy Color, 2000, Nintendo): Donkey and Diddy Kong chase King K. Rool's Kremlings across Kong Island to win back their banana hoard, in Rare's pocket remake with a new stage and mini-games.
• Mega Man Xtreme (Game Boy Color, 2001, Capcom): X and Zero stop the hacker Techno and his Mavericks, bosses from Mega Man X and X2, in a handheld Mega Man X with weapons copied from defeated foes.
• Mega Man Xtreme 2 (Game Boy Color, 2001, Capcom): X and Zero face the Erasure incident and the bounty hunter Berkana, battling bosses from Mega Man X3 and X4 and collecting DNA souls.
• Pocket Bomberman (Game Boy Color, 1998, Nintendo): Bomberman blasts through five side-scrolling worlds, jumping between platforms and bombing enemies in a platform take on the series.
• Prince of Persia (Game Boy Color) (Game Boy Color, 1999, Red Orb Entertainment): The Prince has 60 minutes to escape the Sultan's dungeons, climb the palace and stop the vizier Jaffar, with the original's fluid animation and deadly traps.
• Rayman (Game Boy Color) (Game Boy Color, 2000, Ubi Soft): Rayman punches, swings and hovers through Mr. Dark's worlds to free the captured Electoons, in a new side-scroller for the Game Boy Color.
• Rayman 2 (Game Boy Color) (Game Boy Color, 2002, Ubi Soft): Rayman frees his friends from Admiral Razorbeard's robot pirates in side-scrolling stages, a 2D Game Boy Color take on The Great Escape.
• Shantae (Game Boy Color, 2002, Capcom): Half-genie Shantae whips her hair and dances into animal forms to stop the pirate Risky Boots from stealing Scuttle Town's steam engine.
• The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror (Game Boy Color, 2001, THQ): Bart, Homer, Lisa, Marge and Maggie each star in a spooky Treehouse of Horror tale, played out across side-scrolling stages.
• Spider-Man (Game Boy Color) (Game Boy Color, 2000, Activision): Spider-Man swings, climbs and webs his way across New York to stop a string of supervillains in side-scrolling stages.
• Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six (Game Boy Color, 2001, Activision): Aunt May has been kidnapped by the Sinister Six, and Spider-Man has to beat Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Sandman, Mysterio, Electro and Kraven to get her back.
• Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (Game Boy Color, 1999, Nintendo): The original Super Mario Bros. in color, with Luigi, a challenge mode, a race mode, a toy box and the Lost Levels unlocked as a bonus.
• Tomb Raider (Game Boy Color) (Game Boy Color, 2000, THQ): Lara Croft climbs, swings and shoots through South American ruins to stop the Nightmare Stone from waking an ancient evil, in a side-scrolling adventure.
• Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword (Game Boy Color, 2001, Activision): Lara fights a voodoo cult in New Orleans and the museums and tombs beyond after a cursed sword brings its old owner back to life.
• Wario Land 3 (Game Boy Color, 2000, Nintendo): Wario is trapped in a music box world and must find its five music boxes, letting enemies flatten, freeze or set him on fire to reach new places.
• Wendy: Every Witch Way (Game Boy Color, 2001, TDK Mediactive): The good little witch Wendy flips gravity at will, walking on floors and ceilings through side-scrolling stages full of switches and monsters.
• Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS, 2005, Konami): Soma Cruz absorbs the souls of monsters to take their powers as a cult tries to make him the new Dracula, in a Metroid-style castle crawl.
• Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Nintendo DS, 2008, Konami): Shanoa wields glyphs drawn from her enemies to fight Dracula's forces across the villages and castles of Wallachia, in one of the series' toughest quests.
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (Nintendo DS, 2006, Konami): Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin explore Dracula's castle and the cursed paintings inside it, switching between whip and magic as a team.
• DK: Jungle Climber (Nintendo DS, 2007, Nintendo): Donkey Kong climbs across islands by grabbing pegs with his left and right hands, one shoulder button each, to stop an alien's scheme.
• Drawn to Life (Nintendo DS, 2007, THQ): You draw the hero, weapons and platforms with the stylus to save the Raposa village from the Shadow, then play through the world you drew.
• Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition (Nintendo DS, 2008, THQ): SpongeBob saves Bikini Bottom with your drawings: draw platforms, weapons and gadgets with the stylus, then play through the levels with them.
• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (Nintendo DS, 2009, THQ): Your drawn hero returns to save the Raposa from Wilfre's Shadow, with new things to draw and new worlds to cross.
• Giana Sisters DS (Nintendo DS, 2009, Destineer): Giana jumps, bounces and punches through dreamlike worlds in a modern update of the 1987 platformer.
• Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (Nintendo DS, 2009, Electronic Arts): A gentleman adventurer fights on the top screen while defeated enemies drop into a block puzzle on the bottom one that powers up his attacks.
• Ivy the Kiwi? (Nintendo DS, 2010, Xseed Games): A newborn kiwi chick runs on her own, and you draw vines with the stylus to guide her past traps in search of her mother.
• Kirby: Canvas Curse (Nintendo DS, 2005, Nintendo): A witch turns Kirby into a ball, and you guide him by drawing rainbow paths with the stylus through Drawcia's painted world.
• Kirby: Squeak Squad (Nintendo DS, 2006, Nintendo): Kirby chases the mouse thieves of the Squeak Squad after his stolen strawberry shortcake, storing copy abilities in his belly.
• Kirby Mass Attack (Nintendo DS, 2011, Nintendo): Split into ten little Kirbys by Necrodeus, you lead the whole swarm with the stylus, flicking them onto enemies to pile on.
• Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo DS, 2008, Nintendo): The Super Nintendo's Kirby Super Star remade, with new modes, CG movies and touch-screen mini-games.
• The Legendary Starfy (Nintendo DS, 2009, Nintendo): Starfy, a star-shaped prince, swims and spins through undersea worlds to help a rabbit-like stranger who fell from the sky.
• Mega Man ZX (Nintendo DS, 2006, Capcom): Vent or Aile merges with living Biometals to transform into armored forms, exploring a connected world two centuries after Mega Man Zero.
• Mega Man ZX Advent (Nintendo DS, 2007, Capcom): Grey or Ashe copies the forms of defeated bosses to become them, in the sequel to Mega Man ZX.
• Mega Man Zero Collection (Nintendo DS, 2010, Capcom): All four Game Boy Advance Mega Man Zero games on one cartridge, with Zero slashing through Neo Arcadia, plus an easier mode.
• Monster Tale (Nintendo DS, 2011, Majesco Entertainment): Ellie and her monster friend Chomp explore a strange world together, with Chomp evolving on the touch screen as he learns new tricks.
• N+ (Nintendo DS, 2008, Atari): A ninja leaps through hundreds of single-screen rooms full of mines, lasers and robots in a physics-driven platformer.
• New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS, 2006, Nintendo): Mario's first new side-scrolling adventure in years: chase Bowser Jr. across eight worlds with the Mega Mushroom, Blue Shell and Mini Mushroom.
• Sonic Classic Collection (Nintendo DS, 2010, Sega): The Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles on one cartridge.
• Sonic Rush (Nintendo DS, 2005, Sega): Sonic and newcomer Blaze the Cat boost and trick their way across both screens in a fast 2D adventure.
• Sonic Rush Adventure (Nintendo DS, 2007, Sega): Sonic and Tails wash up in Blaze's world and sail between islands in boats they build, racing through stages full of boosts.
• Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo DS, 2004, Nintendo): The Nintendo 64 classic remade: Yoshi, Mario, Luigi and Wario each explore Peach's castle and its paintings, with new stars and mini-games.
• Super Princess Peach (Nintendo DS, 2006, Nintendo): Princess Peach rescues Mario and Luigi from Bowser, using her moods (joy, gloom, rage and calm) as powers.
• Wario: Master of Disguise (Nintendo DS, 2007, Nintendo): Wario jumps into a TV show and draws disguises on the touch screen, each with its own powers, to steal the treasure of a thief.
• Yoshi's Island DS (Nintendo DS, 2006, Nintendo): Yoshi carries Baby Mario, Peach, DK, Wario and Bowser across islands, each baby giving him a new ability, to rescue the stolen children.
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PlayStation, 1997, Konami): Alucard, Dracula's son, explores a castle full of secrets, leveling up and collecting gear in the game that defined the Metroidvania.
• Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PlayStation, 1998, Sony Computer Entertainment): Crash and Coco race through time for crystals before Uka Uka and Dr. Neo Cortex can, by motorbike, jet ski and biplane between the platforming.
• Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PlayStation, 1997, Sony Computer Entertainment): Dr. Neo Cortex tricks Crash into gathering crystals for him through jungles, snowfields, sewers and space stations.
• Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (PlayStation, 1999, Sony Computer Entertainment): Spyro is summoned to the land of Avalar to defeat the sorcerer Ripto, gliding, charging and learning to swim, climb and headbash.
• Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP, 2007, Konami): Richter Belmont storms Dracula's castle in a 2.5D remake of Rondo of Blood, with the original game and Symphony of the Night unlockable inside.

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